RailRiders add mascots, announce naming contest

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2013 at 1:07 PMFeb 27, 2013 at 1:08 PM

Donnie Collins

Shortly after it arrived at the team's headquarters on Montage Mountain, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders' newest mascot outfit went from brand-spanking new to slightly used in about the amount of time it took to get it out of the box.

Excuse Rob Crain for not being able to wait for opening night to show it off -- at least to a few colleagues.

"I have to admit, I had to be the first person to wear it," Crain, the team's president and general manager, said. "I've already run around the office wearing a porcupine outfit. Had to do it."

On Monday morning, Crain and the RailRiders announced the addition of two new mascots who will help entertain fans at PNC Field for the 2013 season and beyond, tripling the number of costumed creatures that will be roaming the concourse.

One is a more traditional mascot, a furry porcupine wearing a RailRiders jersey. The other is a 9-foot-tall inflatable superhero, also adorned in RailRiders gear, that will be mobile and able to greet fans.Champ, the longtime mascot of the former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, also will return,. Crain said.Neither of the new mascots has been named yet. The team will leave that up to local youth.

A "Name the Mascots" contest will run until March 15. Students from area elementary schools will get to see and meet the mascots during in-school assemblies. Afterward, they will get the opportunity to answer three questions: What is the mascot's name? Where is he from? Who are his friends? From those answers, the team will choose not just names for the porcupine and superhero, but backstories as well. Kids who choose the winning name and backstories will earn a prize pack that includes access to PNC Field's Fun Zone, game tickets and merchandise.

Winners will be announced on Opening Day, April 4, against the Pawtucket Red Sox.